CHICAGO — For the second consecutive year, there was a somber tone to the Big Ten Conference meetings. Last year the mood was dampened by the sudden and untimely death of Northwestern coach Randy Walker just one month before the annual summit of coaches and media.

This time around, the conference contingent was reeling from another loss of a collegue. Indiana head coach Terry Hoeppner died June 19 after a long, recurring battle with a brain tumor that forced him to miss part of the 2006 season. Add to that the loss of iconic former Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler in November 2006, and the Big Ten coaching fraternity has lost three members in the past 14 months.

"Those are three coaches that represent what is best not only about Big Ten football or mid-American football, but all the things that are great about the sport," Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney told the assembled media in his opening statement July 31. "All three guys were great leaders and great people, and we're going to miss them a lot." Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald, who last year had to answer questions dealing with the loss of his mentor and friend so near to the start of the season, played the role of counselor this year, giving advice to new Indiana head coach Bill Lynch.

There are "things in your life you can control, things you can't," Fitzgerald explained. "Last year, we dealt with a great deal of adversity. What we could control was our attitude and how we responded to that adversity."

Lynch, a two-year member of the Indiana coaching staff, served as the interim coach last fall while Hoeppner recovered from brain surgery and also served as head coach during spring practice this past year.

All that experience with the program and players will help make his transition to head coach as easy as possible.

"As a staff, we've had great continuity," Lynch said, adding "I think in this profession, a lot of it is building that trust between player and coach, and over the last few years, we think we've been able to do that."

While those relationships may help Lynch the coach recover from the loss of his predecessor, Lynch the person will likely have a more difficult time dealing with the loss of his friend.

"Terry and I go back 30 years," Lynch said. "He was a great person and a great football coach. I always felt he did things the right way."

Lynch and his coaching staff are not the only ones having a tough time following the loss of Hoeppner. Indiana players, too, have struggled.

"As a football team, they have been through a lot of adversity and I know this summer has been tough on them," Lynch said. "We're all looking forward to getting together this weekend, and I think it's time we get this group back together."

In two seasons as the Indiana's head coach, Hoeppner began restoring what had become a moribound program. In 2006, Indiana won five games and nearly secured a bowl berth for the first time since 1993. The Hoosiers also won their first Big Ten road game since 2001.

In an effort to return some tradition to the Indiana program, Hoeppner introduced several new traditions, including a pre-game walk through tailgating areas. In an effort to stress the importance of winning at home, he dubbed Indiana's Memorial Stadium "The Rock" and used a three-ton rock placed near the field as a reminder for his team to "protect the rock."